Page 17 of Claws for Celebration (Hollow Oak Mates #3)

LUCIEN

T he kiss had shattered every careful barrier Lucien had constructed around his feelings for Moira.

When she’d pulled back, lips kiss-swollen, her milky brown eyes dark with desire behind wire-rimmed glasses that had gone slightly askew, he felt his panther roar to life.

Mine, the beast whispered with fierce satisfaction. Our mate. Claim her.

"Moira," he breathed, brushing his lips over hers, again and again, drinking in the taste of her like a starving man.

His hands framed her face, thumbs caressing the curve of her cheeks, golden magic flickering and spinning around them like stardust. “Are you sure about this? Once we cross this line…”

“There’s no going back,” she finished, her voice soft but sure. Her hands trembled as they fisted in the fabric of his shirt, but her eyes held unwavering heat. “I know. I can feel it too—whatever this is between us. It’s like my magic recognizes you.”

“It does.” He was barely holding on to his restraint, his body taut as a bowstring. The mate bond pulsed in his blood, wild and alive. “There’s something between us that goes deeper than ordinary attraction.”

“Something supernatural?”

“Something inevitable,” he said carefully, though his panther rumbled with impatience at the understatement.

She pulled him into another kiss, and this one tasted like surrender. Like acceptance. "Show me," she whispered. "Show me what this connection means."

Lucien didn’t need to be asked twice.

He lifted her into his arms, carrying her through the silver-drenched garden.

The ancient oak trees above them seemed to bend protectively overhead as golden light pulsed from the protective wards, wrapping them in warmth.

Flowers opened out of season. Moira’s magic bloomed around them like a living thing, a reflection of her desire and awakening power.

He laid her down in a bed of enchanted grass and moss, her mahogany curls spilling out like a halo against the silvery green. Her eyes followed him with trust and hunger, and that combination nearly undid him.

“You’re mine,” he whispered, his voice rough, reverent. “Not because of instinct. Because every part of me—beast and man—wants you.”

Her lips curved, soft and shy, but her hands reached for him with bold intent. “Then have me.”

Lucien knelt beside her, letting himself look—really look.

Her cardigan was gone, leaving her in a simple camisole and soft cotton skirt, the kind of outfit that did nothing to flaunt and everything to tempt.

He eased her glasses from her face and set them carefully aside before leaning in to kiss her again.

This one was slow, lingering, his tongue stroking hers in a rhythm meant to tease and taste.

He moved lower, sliding the straps of her camisole down her arms, his mouth following the exposed skin. “You’re so damn beautiful,” he murmured against her collarbone, tongue flicking over the curve there. “Soft everywhere. I want to map every inch of you with my mouth.”

“Then do it,” she whispered, her back arching when his fingers found the clasp of her bra and slid it free.

He bared her breasts slowly, reverently, watching the golden shimmer of her magic flicker brighter with every inch of exposed skin.

Her nipples pebbled in the cool night air before he took one into his mouth, sucking gently as his hand caressed the other.

Her fingers sank into his hair, tugging as her breath hitched.

“Lucien—oh?—”

The sound of his name on her lips like that, helpless and needy, made his cock throb. He was already hard, painfully so, but he took his time, kissing his way down her ribcage and belly, his tongue dipping into her navel.

“You smell like wildflowers and magic,” he murmured, lifting her hips slightly so he could tug off her skirt and panties in one slow, delicious drag. “And you taste even better.”

Her thighs trembled as he spread them open, revealing her pussy, wet and glistening in the moonlight. He groaned—deep and guttural—at the sight. Her scent filled his lungs, earthy and sweet, and the panther inside him paced with hunger.

Lucien leaned in and licked her slowly, from the bottom of her slit to the very top, tasting her like fine wine. She gasped, her hips arching into his mouth.

“Oh gods—Lucien?—”

He grinned against her pussy and did it again, this time circling her clit with his tongue before flicking over it in rapid strokes. Her magic sparked again, golden threads curling through the air, wrapping around his wrists like she was unconsciously tethering him to her.

“That’s it,” he murmured between strokes. “Let me feel your magic when you come.”

She whimpered and moaned, hands gripping his hair, thighs trembling around his head. He slipped one finger inside her, then two, crooking them just right as he sucked her clit into his mouth.

She came hard, crying out his name, her pussy clenching around his fingers, her magic exploding outward like a pulse of light. He drank in every sound, every tremor, staying with her through every wave of her release until her cries turned to soft gasps.

Lucien crawled back up her body, kissing a trail up her belly, between her breasts, along the column of her throat, until he hovered above her. Her eyes blinked open—dazed, wild, shining.

“I’ve never—” she began, but the words caught in her throat. “I’ve never felt anything like that.”

“You will again,” he promised, brushing his lips over hers. “But now, I need to be inside you.”

She nodded, her hands tugging at the waistband of his pants. “Please.”

He stripped quickly, shedding every last barrier between them until the cool night air kissed his skin and the golden glow of her magic painted his body in soft, flickering warmth.

Her eyes swept over him, wide and unblinking, taking in every inch—the lean muscle honed from years of discipline, the dusky ridges of his scars, the way his cock stood heavy and hard, flushed dark with need and glistening at the tip.

Her gaze dropped lower and she sucked in a breath, lips parting in awe. “You’re… big.”

A flicker of nervousness trembled in her voice, but it was wrapped in wonder, not fear. Her fingers moved instinctively, brushing down the plane of his abdomen, stopping just shy of his cock as if she wasn’t sure she was allowed to touch something that sacred.

“I’ll go slow,” he said, his voice roughened with the effort of holding back. His instincts howled for more—for now—for mine —but he reined them in and sank down between her thighs like a worshiper before an altar. “We’ll go slow, together.”

He kissed her again, deep and drugging, and as her mouth opened for him, her thighs did too, parting to cradle his hips. The head of his cock nestled against her slick heat, and they both gasped at the contact.

“Lucien…” Her voice trembled, a prayer and a plea wrapped into one.

He braced his arms on either side of her and pressed forward—just the tip at first. Her heat welcomed him instantly, and the velvet clutch of her pussy squeezed him like a warm, wet vice.

“Fuck, Moira,” he groaned, head dropping as his forehead touched hers. “You’re so hot. So tight. Gods, you feel like fucking heaven.”

She whimpered beneath him, her back arching, her eyes wide and dark with disbelief and sensation. “You’re stretching me so much. I—oh, gods—I can feel every inch of you.”

He held himself still, teeth clenched, savoring the exquisite agony of being halfway inside her. Every muscle in his body trembled from the effort of not burying himself to the hilt and taking her completely.

His voice was fraying at the edges of control. “Your body—your magic—it’s all calling to mine.”

He pushed deeper, slowly, inch by inch. Her cunt sucked him in, slick and hot, gripping and yielding all at once. She moaned as her hands gripped his arms, nails digging in.

“Lucien—yes—don’t stop?—”

He bottomed out with a raw, broken sound, their bodies flush, her pussy stretched full around his cock.

“Fuck,” he breathed, savoring the sensation of being fully seated in her. “You’re so full of me. So fucking perfect.”

They stilled together, chest to chest, their ragged breathing mingling, eyes locked. Her magic shimmered and curled around them, painting his skin in delicate runes of golden light.

She whispered, dazed, “I can feel you everywhere. It’s like you’re inside my soul.”

He didn’t answer with words. Instead, he kissed her—slow and reverent—before drawing his hips back, just a few inches, and then pressing forward again, watching her reaction closely.

She gasped, her head falling back as he began to move, slow and deep, the steady roll of his hips deliberate and worshipful. Her pussy gripped him tighter with every stroke, as if her body refused to let him go.

Lucien buried his face in her neck and let himself feel. The tight clutch of her around his cock. The soft, desperate sounds she made every time he filled her. The rhythm of their bodies meeting in harmony older than memory.

Every thrust sent sparks of magic racing along their skin, little arcs of pleasure and energy, pulsing in time with her heartbeat.

“Fuck, baby,” he groaned, thrusting deeper, dragging his cock slow and thick along her inner walls. “You’re milking me. Can you feel it? How perfect you are for me?”

“Yes,” she moaned, her legs wrapping around his hips. “Lucien, don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”

His thrusts quickened, hips snapping forward harder, deeper. Her moans grew more frantic, and the air around them grew heavy with power. The garden pulsed like a living thing, reacting to every movement, every breathless cry.

He kissed her jaw, her throat, the delicate curve beneath her ear where her pulse fluttered like wings. “You undo me,” he said again, voice shaking. “You make me feel like I’m coming apart from the inside out.”

She met every thrust, her body moving with his, slick and soaked, the sound of their bodies joining echoing beneath the canopy of ancient trees. He reached between them, thumb circling her swollen clit as he fucked into her.

Moira’s whole body arched, her mouth falling open in a silent cry. “Lucien—I’m—oh gods?—”

“That’s it,” he growled, fingers moving faster, his thrusts growing ragged. “Come for me. Let me feel you.”

Her climax hit like a supernova. Her pussy clamped down around his cock, spasming in waves as her magic exploded outward, golden light erupting in radiant pulses that crackled like stars. Her cry shattered the silence of the garden, primal and beautiful and full of release.

The sensation of her wrapped around him, gripping, pulsing, claiming him—sent Lucien over the edge. He thrust once, twice more, and then came with a deep, guttural moan, spilling into her in thick, hot waves. The pleasure dragged him under like a riptide, stealing his breath, blanking his thoughts.

“Fuck—Moira—fuck—” he groaned, rutting into her until the last of it emptied from him, his cock twitching deep inside her as her body clung to him.

They lay there, trembling and wrecked, wrapped in moonlight and magic, their chests heaving in unison.

Her legs were still locked around him, arms clinging to his back, her nails leaving tiny crescents in his skin that felt like they’d be there forever. Her magic still danced along his shoulders, flickering golden and warm, like her body hadn’t yet realized the moment had passed.

Lucien didn’t pull out. Couldn’t. He stayed buried inside her, head bowed against her chest, breath washing over her skin in slow, reverent waves. He felt everything—her heartbeat, her breath, the lingering magic tying them tighter than words ever could.

Her fingers threaded through his hair.

“That,” she whispered, dazed and beautiful beneath him, “was… beyond anything I imagined.”

Lucien pressed a kiss between her breasts, then to the hollow of her throat as she murmured with satisfaction.

Afterward, as they lay entwined beneath the star-scattered sky, Moira curled against his chest with her mahogany curls tickling his chin, Lucien felt a contentment deeper than anything he'd ever experienced.

His mate slept peacefully in his arms, though she didn't know the true significance of what they'd shared, her magical signature now intertwined with his own in ways that spoke of permanent connection.

His panther purred with deep satisfaction at finally being intimate with their chosen one, even as the beast chafed against the restraint Lucien had imposed.

Soon, his animal side whispered. Soon they would reveal the full truth of the mate bond, but not until she was ready to understand what it meant.

But as the night air cooled around them and reality began to intrude on their perfect moment, darker thoughts crept into his consciousness.

The shadow creatures that had tested Hollow Oak's borders.

The grimoire's increasingly powerful influence on Moira's magical development.

The Council's expectations and the supernatural threats that her awakening was attracting.

Looking down at her peaceful face, so trusting and vulnerable in sleep, Lucien made a silent vow that echoed in both his human heart and his panther's soul.

Whatever darkness the grimoire might bring, whatever dangers threatened their newly discovered love, he would protect her with everything he possessed.

The panther in him purred with deep satisfaction as he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, already planning how to keep her safe from the supernatural storms that were undoubtedly coming their way.